


I'll Kiss You Again, Between the Bars

by InkandOwl



Category: Timekeeper Series - Tara Sim
Genre: 1920s, Alternate Universe - 1920s, M/M, Prohibition, light blasphemy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-04
Updated: 2017-11-04
Packaged: 2019-01-29 04:32:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12623268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkandOwl/pseuds/InkandOwl
Summary: Colton thinks that there isn’t a version of him in every possible universe that hasn’t loved Danny until he was unmade by it.“I want it.  I want you.”1920's prohibition era AU





	I'll Kiss You Again, Between the Bars

Colton keeps his head bowed over his folded hands dutifully, clasped on the smooth wood of their kitchen table. His father’s voice is rich with penance, thanking the lord for their food and their family, in its quaint and humble numbers, but Colton’s prayer isn’t his father’s. He thinks about the smooth, rich sound of the jazz music at the speakeasy. They way people danced and laughed and he felt the burn of warm whiskey for the first time. He thinks, mostly, of the way Danny’s eyes had held onto his in the dim lighting, leaned against the bar and grinning at Colton in a private way. 

Colton begs God to tell him why his chest feels tight and his stomach flutters when Danny looks at him. He wants answers for this guilty, sinful feeling that makes him dizzy when the barkeep leans to close across the counter to whisper in his ear. He’s angry, and tired, and not a moment wiser when his father praises ‘Amen’, and Colton mumbles in agreement. 

They eat in a near silence when Colton’s father clears his throat, “You’ve been going into town quite a bit lately.” His thick Tennessee accent carries heavy accusations on it and Colton winces. 

“Just lookin’ around.” His hand comes nervously to his chest, fingers wrapping around the rusted copper cross that hangs around his neck. It’s an obvious tell that he’s lying and Colton’s father wipes his mouth on a napkin and sighs.

“This town isn’t a good place for a boy like you to be wandering around.” He puts his hands down heavily on the table, “It’s a playground for sinners. They’d tear you apart out there, drag you straight to hell with the rest of them.” 

Colton lets his gaze wander to his lap, an anger curling inside of him. “Why did we come here if it’s so bad?” 

They’ve had this talk a million times before, and it’s always the same, ‘Chicago is a den of blasphemy, Colton. It’s my job to try and save these people.’ or ‘We need to spread the word of God, you know this.’ So when his father clears his throat and tells him, “Colton, you know more than anyone that this town needs a real cleaning up-”

Colton interrupts him, “Is it because of mom? Tennessee reminds you too much of her, doesn’t it?” 

The silence sits uneasy in their modest kitchen. Colton thinks that it might go on all night, until his father becomes irate enough that he sends Colton to sleep in the shed, or worse, strikes him. Instead, he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, “I think it’s time you go to bed. I have a sermon tomorrow and I want you there to assist the parish. You’re slipping out of the Lord’s graces.” 

He wants to argue that he isn’t, that he’s never felt happier or lighter in his life. It doesn’t change that he’s found himself in the company of the Chicago underground and his heart in the hands of a boy that tends bar. His chair scrapes against the floor roughly when he pushes it away from the table, “Goodnight, father.” He nods and slips away to his room. 

It’s dark in their home, when his father turns out all the lights and disappears to his own bed. Colton can picture him easily, bible spread across his lap with a dim bedside lamp flickering next to him. He wonders if his father prays for him, or if he tries to speak with his dead wife, the way Colton tries to speak with her at night. He fumbles in the dark for his suspenders and a pair of trousers that are suitable for wearing in public. It’s easily three miles to the Clock Tower, but Colton figures it’s not too late to catch a few numbers of Brandon’s wailing saxophone and Cassie’s smoky voice. 

He hopes that it won’t be too late to beg a drink off of Danny so that their hands can brush over the top of the bar. 

The city of Chicago is a living, breathing creature at night, and Colton is just another part of the bloodstream as he turns down poorly paved streets. There’s music coming from every corner, most of it jazz, but some of it blue grass, echoing down the fire escapes. A woman grabs his hand and asks him if he would like a little company tonight, and he profusely tells her no thank you, until she turns her attention to another man ambling out of a storefront that boasts of used watches. Not even two streets later, an older gentleman asks Colton how much he would need to keep his bed warm that night. 

Someone links their arm in Colton’s and swings him wildly around, out of the grip of the man. His panic is short lived when he is faced with Cassie’s boisterous laugh, “You’re a long way from the church, preacher boy.” She winks, wild red hair bouncing with every step she takes, “Did you sneak out just to hear me sing?” 

It’s not the entire reason why, but Colton nods happily, “I thought since it’s getting pretty late, you might be done by now.” He admits.

Cassie laughs again, the pearls around her neck shaking with every step they take, “Oh, honey, the night is young. We’ve got miles to go before we sleep.”

She keeps her arm looped in Colton’s and he grins, taking in the city, “What is that?” 

“Hmm?” Cassie digs a pair of suspenders out of her hand bag, and pulls her necklace off to shove it into the depths of her clutch. 

“That thing, ‘miles to go before we sleep’, is it a saying?” He wants to know all the ins and outs of city speak. 

Cassie manages to procure a button up shirt and a bowtie by the time the reach the corner, “It’s a poem, it doesn’t go exactly like that, but it’s new. Robert Frost wrote it about a year ago.” She drags them into an alcove and strips down to her undergarments. Colton turns away, cheeks stained red. “Don’t you keep up with the poets?” 

“Um,” He squints against the headlights of passing cars, “Not really. Father says most of them are drunks and sodomites.”

Cassie’s laugh is unbridled and Colton glances over his shoulder to see her tucking her shirt into a pair of mens’ trousers, “Too true. But the best people in life are.” She secures her bowtie around her neck and holds her hands out, “How do I look?” 

Colton lets his eyes drift down her form, but only because he knows that she wants him to, “Handsome.” He supplies and she beams at him. 

“So tell me, does Danny know you’re coming tonight?” The mention of Danny’s name makes Colton’s face heat up. 

“I don’t think so. I didn’t think I was coming myself, I just sort of- wandered.” He waves vaguely at the street and Cassie grins.

“He’ll be happy to see you, you know. He’s a bitter old man, our Danny, it warms my heart to see him act like a decent human being.” She stops in front of the old courthouse, with its looming clock tower and knocks twice. 

“Closed for cleaning!” A surly voice barks out.

“Could I bother you for the time?” Cassie sings back and the door cracks open. 

The man at the door is even larger than his voice suggests and he narrows his eyes at them, “Cassie, why don’t you take the back entrance like all the other musicians?” 

Cassie shrugs, “Then I wouldn’t get to see you ever, Ben.” She kisses his cheek on the way in and Colton keeps close on her heels. He’s been here a few times already, but each time fills him with a rush of excitement as if it’s a new experience. “I gotta do my thing, kid. Sing a few songs, shake my hips, drink a lot of whiskey.” She mutters the last part close to his ear and Colton can’t help but laugh. Daphne is already sat at the piano, a lively number bouncing out from under her fingers, “Why don’t you go keep Danny company?” 

She guides him by his shoulder to the bar and whistles once, loud enough that Danny looks up from the shot glasses he has lined up to be cleaned, “Look what I found in the gutter. Better take care of this one.” She winks and saunters away to the jazz group collected at a table in the corner. They all cry out happily when she shoves herself gracefully into a chair. 

Danny touches his fingers gently to the back of Colton’s hand and he feels like his skin is on fire, “Hey.” He lets his thumb brush over Colton’s knuckles, “Didn’t know you were coming tonight.” 

Colton wants to say something clever, to make Danny smile and laugh, but he just ends up biting back his own ridiculous grin and saying “Yeah.” 

Either Danny doesn’t notice how stupid he sounded, or he just doesn’t care. He carefully wipes down a rocks glass and procures a dram of amber liquid and pours a couple fingers of it. “On the house, darling.” He leans against the counter top and pushes the glass towards Colton, green eyes lit up with a challenge. 

“What is it?” Colton brings it to his nose. It smells nice, like something fancy and rich. 

“Bourbon. It’s for tasting, but if you hate it you can just throw it back like a shot.” Danny is watching him carefully, leaning on both of his elbows. 

It’s definitely more liquid than a regular shot and Colton lets it slide down the glass first, brushing against his lips. The bourbon is strong and acrid and doesn’t taste like it’s supposed to go in his body, but he doesn’t hate it. Still, he opens his mouth and lets most of it slide down his throat, flinching at the way it burns all the way into his stomach. Danny laughs, low and quiet, “You’re getting really good at that. I think you’re old man is probably right about us being a bad influence on you.” 

Colton licks his lips, not missing the way Danny’s eyes track the movement, and when he flicks his gaze up to Colton, he swallows hard. Danny nods his head towards the stockroom, “Can I show you something?”

Colton nods, it’s all he can do. Danny calls over to the other barkeep and takes Colton by the wrist, dragging him behind crates of alcohol and locally cultivated moonshine. He’s breathless and frantic, pacing slightly when he presses Colton gently against a decommissioned billiards table. Colton touches the side of his face gently, because he can- because he feels powerful around Danny. “Are you okay?” He’s not surprised by how strained his own voice sounds. 

Danny brackets his hands on either side of Colton’s hips, leans in closes enough that their noses brush, “I want- I want this, and I need you to tell me now if I’m wrong. Tell me if you don’t want this.” 

The closeness of their bodies leaves Colton feeling dizzy and he doesn’t know if it’s the alcohol, or Danny, or a combination of both, but he whines and twists his hands in the front of Danny’s shirt. “I want this.” He whispers and Danny lets out a breath before crushing his lips against Colton’s. It’s sloppy and rough, and Danny pulls Colton’s bottom lip between his teeth, running his tongue over it. Colton is afraid he’s going to shake apart with need and he thinks if he doesn’t get his hands on Danny’s skin his heart is going to stop. He plucks at Danny’s shirt, picks it loose from his pants, not caring that it gets caught on his suspenders, and runs his hands up the soft, flat expanse of Danny’s stomach. Danny moans and the sound goes straight between Colton’s legs. 

Danny drags a trail of kisses over Colton’s jaw and pulls back reluctantly, breathing heavily, “You’re incredible.” He brings his hands to the sides of Colton’s face and kisses him again, gently this time. 

Colton presses his hands flat over Danny’s chest, feeling his heartbeat stutter against his palms, “Can I-” He swallows, steals a kiss from Danny’s lips, “Can I come home with you?” 

He knows what he’s asking when he says it. He’s not so naive a church boy that the implication of going home with someone is lost on him. Still, Danny searches his face and asks him, “Have you ever done this before? Anything?” 

Colton wants to lie, to tell him that he’s an experienced lover and that Danny doesn’t have to be so careful with him. Instead he shakes his head, “I know what I want though. I want you, I want- I want all of you.” 

Danny runs his fingers through Colton’s golden curls and kisses his forehead. For a terrible moment, Colton is afraid that Danny is going to say no. That he’s going to tell Colton that he wants to take this slow or that Colton isn’t ready. “My apartment is just down the street.” He says and smooths down the front of his shirt, tucking it in where Colton has pushed it up. “I’m going to tell Matthias to cover the rest of my shift. Wait for me out back.” 

The temperature has dropped significantly since the beginning of the night, and Colton wraps his arms around himself when he steps into the alley behind the Clock Tower. He lets his hand find his cross and feels the grooves in the metal, looking up into the night sky. There’s far too much light pollution, and air pollution to see the stars like he could back on their farm in Tennessee, and Colton takes a deep breath. 

He waits for the crush of guilt to settle in him. All the sermons his father had taught, promising fire and damnation for fraternization before marriage. For lusting after a boy. It never comes though, and when Danny stumbles out the back door, eyes wide and honest and focused only on Colton he huffs out a laugh. ‘Not lust’, he tells himself, even when Danny presses him against the brick wall and kisses him deep and warm. It’s bigger than that. 

“ ‘s cold out here.” Danny shivers a little and laughs, taking Colton’s hand in his own. 

They stick to the back alleys, where the prostitutes and drunks don’t judge two boys holding hands and stealing kisses as they make their way through the night. One warns Danny to ‘play nice’ when they get to his apartment building and winks at Colton, before he’s ushered through the front door and up a flight of stairs. 

It’s blessedly warm in the building and Danny fumbles with his keys while one of his neighbors watches from a fold out chair, cigarette hanging from her lips. She sizes Colton up, and he steps a little behind Danny, who seems to notice and glances between them. 

“Evening, Margaret. This is my- cousin.” Danny says with a barely contained laugh and Margaret rolls her eyes, flicking her cigarette ash on the floor. 

“Whatever, Hart, just keep it down.” 

Danny drags Colton inside and shuts the door with a huff, “Sorry, I didn’t think anyone would be up.” 

Colton looks around the tiny space, a one room studio with stacks of sketchbooks and secondhand furniture, “You bring a lot of boys back here?” He tries to keep the bitter edge out of his voice and fails. 

Danny frowns and tilts his head, “No, I really don’t. I had-” He pushes his fingers through his slick black hair, messing it up from it’s neatly combed style, “I had a guy once, a few years ago. He skipped town once people started to catch on though. About him. About us.” 

A tired sadness creeps into Colton’s bones and he inches towards Danny, wrapping his arms around his waist. “Can we kiss more?” He says it mostly into the side of Danny’s neck and Danny laughs.

“We can kiss all night, if you want.” Danny tells him, and presses his lips to the corner of Colton’s mouth, “Tell me if you want me to stop though.” He guides Colton back towards his bed, a four poster in the center of his room, and Colton sinks back against the pillows.

“I don’t want you to stop anything.” He tells Danny cheerfully, and pulls him down for a heavier kiss. 

“You might.”

“I don’t” He pushes the suspenders off Danny’s shoulders and lets his fingers drag over the buttons of his shirt, popping them loose as he goes. He plays with the hem of Danny’s trousers and Danny makes a sound low in his throat, grabbing Colton’s wrists and pinning them up by his head. 

A thrill of shivers runs through Colton’s body at the feeling of Danny pressing him into the mattress, “And what do you know about this? A good little christian boy like you.” Danny pushes Colton’s knees apart with his own, “You want me to touch you?” 

Colton nods and Danny drags his hands down Colton’s chest, unclipping his suspenders and pushing his night shirt out of his pants. His touch is feather light over Colton’s hip bones and once Colton is writhing underneath his hand, voice straining out a “Please”, Danny drags his thumb over Colton’s bottom lip, pushing it between his teeth. “You want me to touch you here?” Danny’s hand drops between Colton’s legs, pressing against him through the fabric of his clothes and Colton whimpers. “I could make you feel so good, darling, do you want that?” 

“Yes.” Colton’s voice is barely more than a shaky whisper as he twines his fingers into Danny’s hair. 

“You gonna let me taste you?” the corner of Danny’s lips twitch in a smirk and Colton groans, rolling his hips into his touch. 

No one’s ever put their hands on Colton like this, and no one has certainly ever asked to taste him, so he can’t help the confusion that crosses his features. Danny huffs out a laugh, kissing Colton sweetly, “I want to use my mouth on you.” He tells him, deft fingers popping open the button on Colton’s trousers and slipping his hand inside. He wraps his fingers around Colton’s straining erection and strokes him carefully, “Right here.” 

Colton whines, loud and uninhibited, and he can’t understand why he’s been told his entire life that something like this would be unholy. “I want you to-” Colton’s not really sure what he’s asking, but he knows he wants Danny to do it, “Anything. Everything. I want everything from you.” He crushes Danny’s mouth against his own and feels Danny’s grin against his lips. 

It feels dangerous and perfect. It feels right. Danny kisses down his neck, runs his tongue over his exposed collarbone, and Colton fumbles to yank his shirt over his head, practically tearing it to ribbons in the process. Danny sits back and laughs, but his eyes roam over Colton’s now bare chest, his tan country skin and leans down to drag his lips over his stomach. He grips the top of Colton’s trousers and undergarments and yanks them down over his legs in one fluid motion. 

He’s never been naked in front of anyone else before, and Colton feels a wave of embarrassment seep into his limbs, and he pull his knees together, arms crossed timidly over his stomach. Danny grabs his wrists, pulls them apart gently, “Let me see you, beautiful.” His voice sounds wrecked and he looks at Colton like he’s a work of art. “God almighty, Colton.” The reverence in his voice has Colton reaching out to him until Danny takes his hands in his own and kisses his knuckles. He tugs off his own shirt then, sending his hair into further disarray. His skin looks like porcelain in the moonlight and Colton wants to put his mouth on every inch of it. “Lay back for me, baby.” Danny presses Colton gently into the mattress and sinks down his body, breath hot over his skin and he brushes his hands up and down Colton’s thighs, spreading them apart. It starts to dawn on Colton exactly what it is Danny wants to do to him when he nips carefully at the inside of Colton’s thigh, brushing his cheek against Colton’s leaking dick. He pauses, just long enough to look up at Colton, eyes locked onto his as he drags his tongue up the length of him. 

Colton cries out, fists twisting into the bedsheets when Danny takes him all the way into his mouth. His world is narrowed down to this- Danny’s tongue and his fingers and the way Colton can feel it all the way in his toes, and he has to concentrate on not coming in the next ten seconds. Danny hitches Colton’s legs over his shoulders, drags Colton even closer, like he can’t get enough of him down his throat. Danny’s name spills from Colton’s lips in a litany of praise. 

“Danny, I-” He tugs Danny’s hair lightly and he pulls away, a strand of saliva glinting off his bottom lip and he wipes it off with the back of his hand. “I’m gonna finish really soon if you don’t stop.” 

Danny grins, “Isn’t that the point?” 

And yes, it is the point, but Colton wants to do more. He wants to make Danny feel good, and hear him say his name. “I think so.” He says instead, and then shakes his head, “I mean, I want to touch you.” 

Danny slides off the bed, pushing his pants down and over his ankles, and Colton feels a new rush of excitement at the sight of him completely laid bare. He wonders if this is how Danny felt when he looked at him. Colton wraps his arms around Danny’s waist, pulls him forward until he can press a kiss to is sternum. His hands carve out the slope of Danny’s back and he can’t stop himself from grabbing a handful of his ass and squeezing. Danny groans, and Colton wants to hear it for the rest of his life. Danny climbs back onto the bed, and into Colton’s lap. The feel of their bare skin, pressed chest to chest, legs folded over legs, makes Colton sigh with relief from a pain he didn’t know he was feeling. Like sinking into a warm bath. 

Danny rolls his hips, his dick rubbing against Colton’s and Colton moans loudly into Danny’s mouth, “This feels amazing.” He admits and Danny makes a noise of agreement, tongue dipping between Colton’s open lips. 

Colton isn’t aware of the bruising grip he has on Danny’s hips until Danny stills in his lap and places his own hands on top of them, “Colton, I want you to fuck me.” 

The words leave Colton winded and he pulls away to look at Danny, amber eyes wide, “I don’t know how.” He admits, “I’ve never done anything like that before.” 

“I could show you.” Danny tells him quietly, placing his hands over Colton’s stuttering heart, “We don’t have to though. If you don’t want.” He amends. 

He’s scared, and he’s nervous, and every resentful word from his father comes rushing into his lungs all at once. But he’s excited, and Danny is so beautiful, undone in his hands, and Colton thinks for the first time in his life, he’s in love. He’s known him two months, and he feels like he’s known him his entire life and probably every life before. Colton thinks that there isn’t a version of him in every possible universe that hasn’t loved Danny until he was unmade by it. “I want it. I want you.” 

Danny pushes his fingers through Colton’s hair, kisses him over his cheekbones and slides from the bed, sauntering across the room to dig through his dresser. It’s possibly the greatest view Colton’s ever been witness too, and he studies the solid lines of Danny’s body before he’s shaking a slender pharmaceutical vial between his fingers and joining Colton bad on the mattress. 

“What is it?” Colton asks when Danny twists off the top and slicks his fingers in a clear liquid. 

“Almond oil. Got a prescription for aching muscles.” Danny reaches behind himself and bites his lip as he slips a finger inside. 

Colton stares at him, wide eyed and unable to tear his gaze away from Danny’s hand and where his finger is disappearing into his body, “You have aching muscles?” He asks mindlessly as Danny works a second finger into himself. 

Danny huffs out a laugh and winks, “Not quite, but the doctor doesn’t ask as many questions as the grocer.” 

He’s mesmerised by the way Danny works himself open, by the look of neediness on his face as he uses his free hand to grip Colton’s forearm tightly, like he’s his only lifeline. Colton reaches for the almond oil, holds it in his sweating palms, “Can I- can I do that?” He nods to Danny’s hand and Danny grins but he looks wrecked. He pulls out of himself and takes Colton’s hand in his own, dripping the oil over his outstretched fingers.

Danny guide Colton’s hand between his legs, pressing the tips of his fingers into him and Colton closes his eyes, taking a deep breath. He’s tight and impossibly hot and Colton can’t help but sink two of his fingers in as deep as can. Danny makes a choked off noise and Colton knits his eyebrows together in worry, “Does it hurt?” 

Danny bites his lip and shakes his head, “Feels really good.” 

Colton wants to know what Danny’s feeling, thinks that one day he would like Danny to do this to him. He pushes his fingers in and out, a steady rhythm that has Danny writhing in the sheets, grinding his hips down on Colton’s hand. “Do you want me to add another one?” He presses hard inside of him and moves until Danny is practically sobbing his name. 

It sounds better than any hymn he’s sung on Sunday in his father’s church. “I need you now.” Danny grits out, and he pushes Colton until he’s flat on his back, straddling his legs easily. He fumbles for the bottle of oil once more and coats Colton’s dick with it, stroking him a few times before he’s lining himself up and sinking down on him with stuttered movement. 

Danny winces when he bottoms out, hands braced against Colton’s chest, and Colton has to dig his fingers into Danny’s thighs to keep himself from finishing. It feels incredibly, burying himself inside of Danny, and he can’t keep his hips from grinding up in an attempt to seat himself deeper. Danny moans, cheeks flushed and shoulders pushed up like his body is too overwhelmed to unravel just yet. Colton runs his hands down the tops of Danny’s thighs, a uncontrolled stream of compliments falling out of him. “Danny, Danny.” He whines and when Danny starts to move, he gasps, “God, Danny, so good.” 

He feels incredibly drunk with it. His body is alight with unnamed emotions as Danny sinks down on him over and over and over. Colton wants to be the one to press Danny into the mattress, to sink into him while Danny is simply made to feel good. “Let me-” He doesn’t know how to ask, just lets Danny slowly roll his hips. 

Danny, the brilliant boy, seems to understand what it is Colton wants, and he gets up, pulling Colton up with him. “Like this.” He turns around on his hands and knees, tugging on Colton’s wrist until he’s behind him, “It’s really good like this.” He promises, and Colton trusts him, because everything they’ve done tonight has felt incredible. 

Colton runs his hands over Danny’s back, and Danny sinks onto his elbows. Colton takes himself in hand and runs the tip of his dick over Danny’s slick entrance before pushing back into him. Danny muffles his cries in the pillow, but presses himself back into Colton, back arching sinfully. Instinct takes over from there. Colton thrusts into him quickly, pressing his chest along the sweat slicked skin of Danny’s back, the cross around his neck dragging over Danny’s spine with each movement. “Colton, oh fuck.” Danny swears, his voice a distant sound in the fabric of the sheets, and Colton reaches between Danny’s legs, wrapping his hand around his aching dick. 

Colton buries his nose in Danny’s hair, soft and citrusy smelling from the gel he used for his shift at the speakeasy. “You’re amazing.” He grits out, every thrust getting harder and deeper, his hand moving faster on Danny. “So good for me.” 

He doesn’t know where the words come from, he just knows he can’t stop them once they’re working their way past his lips. Danny’s hand comes to grip Colton’s thigh, to pull him harder against him until he’s practically sobbing. Colton runs his thumb over the head of his dick and he comes hard, spilling onto the sheets beneath him, his body tightening around Colton. Danny feels boneless, but Colton grips Danny’s hair with one hand and holds his hips up with the other and drives into him mercilessly, Danny’s name a prayer coming from him. He presses into him hard, hip bones grinding hard against his ass, and warmth spreads deep inside Danny when Colton finishes. 

After he catches his breath, Colton drops his head between Danny’s shoulder blades and presses a kiss to the smooth skin there. He’s too warm, and too sensitive, but he doesn’t want to move as he kisses Danny again and again and again. “Danny.” 

He pulls out finally, collapses onto his side and collects Danny into his arms. His eyes are fluttering closed when Danny brings a hand up to push Colton’s sweaty hair off his forehead, “I love you too.” Danny’s voice is quiet, nervous when he brings his trembling hand to rest on the dip of Colton’s waist. 

Colton’s eyes dart open, “What?”

Danny’s dark eyebrows pull together, expression complicated, “You said you love me.” 

He says it like he’s trying to convince himself, but the truth is, that Colton does. And he doesn’t doubt that he said it in the throes of passion. He presses his thumb to the crease between Danny’s eyebrows, “I do.” He tells him, and smiles when Danny relaxes, pulling him closer. 

They kiss, sweet and oddly chaste for what they just did, “How was it? For your first time?” Danny kisses Colton’s nose.

“Incredible.” Colton says seriously, touching various places on Danny like he can’t quite believe he’s there. “I want to do it again, like, now.” 

Danny laughs, and it’s a beautiful, carefree sound, “Give me a little bit, yeah?” Colton wrinkles his nose at the idea of waiting. Now that he’s had Danny, he only wants more. He let’s Danny kiss the pout off his face instead. 

 

~~

 

The sun drags itself lazily through the curtains and warms Colton’s face, and he blinks awake. He’s supposed to be seated in a pew at his father’s sermon- probably hours ago- and when the thought dawns on him, he finds that he doesn’t care. Danny’s arm snakes over his naked hip and he buries his face into the back of Colton’s neck, still half asleep. 

Colton turns around in his arms, kissing the bridge of his nose because he can see the faint freckles there in the morning sun. And because he can. Danny makes a sleepy noise and sighs. “You’re up so early.” 

“Not my fault you work in the middle of the night. Your sleep schedule is a mess.” Colton take in the way Danny’s eyelashes curls a little upward before he blinks awake, and then he’s lost in a forest of emerald. 

Danny grins, crooked and familiar, “Hi.” He breathes out and Colton kisses him thoroughly awake. They stay like that, wrapped up in each other and swapping lazy kisses until Danny pulls away and brings his hand to rest on Colton’s cheek. “I want you to stay with me.” He says it abruptly, like he might change his mind if it’s not out quick enough. Colton opens his mouth to speak, “No, no! Don’t think of everything that could go wrong.” Danny sounds so hopeful and Colton can do no more than listen, “You could work at the Clock Tower, I could teach you how to tend bar. I don’t want you to go back to your dad though. You’re old enough, you can start your own life.” 

He says it so desperately and Colton is lost in his eyes, eager and honest, “Danny-”

“Please. I love you, I don’t want you to go anywhere else at night.” 

“Danny-”

“I won’t let you feel guilty about this, not when it’s so right, I-”

“Danny, yes.” Colton brings his hands up to grasp Danny’s face. 

“What?” 

Colton laughs, bright and unguarded and kisses Danny soundly, “Yes, I’ll stay with you. As long as you’ll have me, I’ll stay.” 

Danny says nothing for a moment, eyes searching in Colton’s and he huffs out a laugh before pressing Colton into the mattress, sucking bruising kisses into the side of his neck until Colton is reaching for him to be as close as he can be again.

**Author's Note:**

> Come hang out with me on tumblr! inkandowl.tumblr.com


End file.
